Ontario appoints next provincial court chief justice

Associate Chief Justice Sharon Nicklas will take over from Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve when her eight-year term ends on May 31.

Thestar.com
May 2, 2023
Jacques Gallant

The provincial government announced on Monday the next chief justice of the Ontario Court of Justice -- using an appointment process the court’s own judges described as an “aberration.”

Judge Sharon Nicklas, who currently serves as one of the court’s associate chief justices, will take over from outgoing Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve when her eight-year term ends on May 31, Attorney General Doug Downey said Monday.

Nicklas was a Crown attorney for over a decade before her appointment to the bench in Kitchener in 2007. She became associate chief justice in 2019, as well as coordinator of the justices of the peace.

Called to the bar in 1994, Nicklas is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s faculty of law.

“It is an honour to have been appointed chief justice, and I look forward to serving the public and the court in this next role,” Nicklas said in a statement Monday.

Downey said in a tweet that he believed Nicklas “will be a strong leader, steadfast in the effective administration of justice and unwavering in her commitment to all Ontarians.”

Downey sparked outrage from the Association of Ontario Judges last year when he asked that potential candidates for the top job apply directly to him, through an email address that only he could access.

The attorney general also wanted judges to provide feedback about potential candidates directly to him -- something the judges’ association said violated the separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches of government.

“What strikes us as an aberration ... is the suggestion that judges ignore the separation of powers and their ethical obligations and communicate directly with the attorney general,” association president Judge Julie Bourgeois said in a letter to Maisonneuve that was obtained by the Star last year.

“It is our view that the attorney general is inviting members of the judiciary to compromise their ethical obligations. It is also our view that the process as outlined undermines judicial independence and violates our democratic system of separation of powers.”

There was further controversy when one of the five candidates for the job, Regional Senior Justice Paul Currie, was charged last month with assault and assault causing bodily harm against his spouse.

Currie had made it to the interview stage of the process, according to an email obtained by the Star that Downey sent to the judges and justices of the peace in January. It’s unclear if Currie was still in the running by the time of his assault charges. His next court date is May 23.

The Ontario Court of Justice is one of the country’s busiest levels of court, handling the bulk of the province’s criminal caseload, provincial offences like traffic tickets, and some family matters.

By the time Nicklas takes over as chief justice, the amalgamation of Toronto’s six provincial criminal courthouses into the new courthouse at 10 Armoury Street will be complete.

The new building, located near University Avenue and Dundas Street West, has been grappling with delays since it started hearing cases in March.

Staffing shortages attributed to burnout and a refusal to work downtown have led to the closure of numerous courtrooms. The result is that trials have had to be adjourned, putting criminal cases at greater risk of being tossed for violating an accused person’s constitutional right to a trial within a reasonable time.

Just last week, 25 courtrooms in the new building had to be closed.

“The Criminal Lawyers’ Association has worked closely and productively with Chief Justice Nicklas in her role as associate chief justice on pressing matters for the criminal justice system, including modernization and access to justice,” said association president Daniel Brown.

“We will continue to work with the chief justice alongside other justice system participants to improve on the many gains made during her predecessor’s tenure on these important initiatives.”